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Five Frugal Fun Tips for the VacationerThe beach may be a convenient vacation destination for locals, and, depending on your locale, it's often easier to reach than flying off somewhere. However, with rising gas prices and other expenses, it still isn't cheap, even when the sand is in relatively close proximity. The Automobile Association of America estimates that the average family of four drops more than $320 a day vacationing around the New Jersey shore. In acknowledgment of this, we consulted a few experts on finding fun for less, while also doing a little digging of our own to provide five ways to save at t ...continue |
Drivers Finding Electric Cars a Powerful LureWith the average price of gasoline in the Chicago area and elsewhere in the nation topping $4 a gallon this week, electric car owners who once were mere curiosities on society's fringes are now viewed with renewed interest as they zip alongside motorists suffering skyrocketing fuel prices. The average price of regular, unleaded gasoline nationally hit a record $3.776 a gallon Thursday, according to the AAA. ...continue |
Toyota Says Hybrid Vehicle Prius Sales Top One MillionToyota Motor Corp. said on Thursday sales of its Prius, the world's first mass-produced petrol-electric hybrid vehicle, had topped one million since its launch about a decade ago. The company launched the Prius in Japan in 1997, followed by North America, Europe and elsewhere in 2000. ...continue |
Pain at the Pump: What Goes Into Gas PricesIf you're like most people, sticker shock is now the name of the game whenever you pull your car into the gas station. Gas prices keep inching higher and it's not going to get better in the near-term. Crude oil prices hit an all-time high last week when they lapped the $126 mark. These prices are for June deliveries, so drivers should be braced for gradually higher prices over the next few weeks. What many don't understand is the concept of crude prices and its relationship to the price of gasoline. ...continue |
Auto Industry: Let's Play Small BallIn baseball, it's called "small ball" when a team emphasizes speed and strategies such as sacrifice bunts, rather than relying on big home-run hitters. In basketball, "small ball" features smaller, quicker athletes who run the court relentlessly and leave larger, slower opponents in the lurch. It seems increasingly obvious that the global auto industry will be playing a game of brutally competitive small ball in coming years. ...continue |
The Volvo C30: Should We Care About a Hatchback Comeback?In a triumph of hope over experience, automakers are once again marketing hatchback coupes. First we drove the Saturn Astra and now it's the Volvo C30's turn. Hatchbacks once were popular in the United States. They've always done well in Europe whence come the Saturn and the Swedish Volvo. Will the new batch join a U.S. landscape littered with the remains of h.b. coupes? ...continue |
Ford Recalling More Than 655,000 TrucksFord Motor Co. is recalling more than 655,000 Ford F-150 and Lincoln Mark LT pickup trucks to fix a hose that could affect the vehicles' braking power. ...continue |
Nissan Business Strategy Aims High and LowOutlining key pillars of its business strategy for the years to come, Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday it aims to become an industry leader in zero-emission vehicles and to cultivate emerging markets with low-cost cars. The automaker also plans to increase overall sales by 5 percent annually in the next five business years to March 2013, Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told a news conference in Tokyo. ...continue |
U.S. April Retail Sales Down 0.2 Percent vs Expected 0.1 Percent DeclineU.S. consumers played hardball at the car dealership last month, leaving overall retail spending negative in April, the second decline in the past four months, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. ...continue |
Kerkorian Starts Offer to Boost Ford Stake by 20M Shares |
Saturn Astra XR: Simply Fun to DriveA driver's car doesn't have to be fast off the mark or styled like a bullet. All it needs to do is bring a smile to the operator's face. The Saturn Astra XR is an excellent example of what a "driver's car" ought to be. It's just fun to drive. ...continue |
Hybrid Car Tops Owners' PollThe hybrid electric Toyota Prius not only scores highly as a "green" car -- it is also the vehicle drivers are most happy with, a major customer satisfaction survey revealed today. ...continue |
Nissan, Toyota Focus on Graying DriversIn Japan, about 20% of the population is over 65, compared to 12.5% in the U.S. So it's unsurprising that the government and companies are doing more to cater to the needs of older customers. Yet when it comes to driving, it's hard to avoid the mixed signals. Companies are keen to keep seniors behind the wheel. Although few admit to targeting older customers with specific models, many new technologies or design trends are being developed with older drivers in mind. ...continue |
Mercedes-Benz USA sales down 3% in AprilDaimler AG said Thursday that Mercedes-Benz USA sales in April fell 3% to 20,271 vehicles from 20,895 during the same month last year. ...continue |
Move Over Gas Guzzlers--The Hybrids Are Coming!Not long ago, hybrid cars were little more than novelties. But those days are long gone. Today's hybrids can be sleek, stylish, and fast. With the price of gasoline soaring toward $4 per gallon in the United States, they are increasingly attractive economically. In fact, these gas-savers may claim 80 percent of the market by 2020. ...continue |